Hay-fork



- (No Model.)

0. A. GUTENKUNST.

HAY FORK.

m w .m g m 3 P m5 A a E G 3 ITF Mm CHARLES A. GUTENKUNST, OF MIIBVAUKEE, VVISOONSIN.

HAY-FORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 324,836, dated August 25, 1885,

Application filed September 10, 1884.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OHARLns A. GUTEN- KUNsT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hay-Forks, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inven tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification,

My inventionto be hereinafter claimedrelates to improvements in harpoon hay-forks, and pertains especially to the device whereby the tines of the fork are locked either within the sheath or extended nearly at right angles therefrom, which I am enabled with my simple and inexpensive device to do with less machinery and more easily and certain] y than has heretofore been done.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front view of a fork having my locking device, showing the tines within the sheath, and by dotted lines indicating their position when extended. Fig. 2 is a side view of the fork,

in which one side'of the sheath and bifurcate part of the stem are removed, exposing the device to View, and showing and indicating the two looking positions of the latch; and Fig.

3 is a second but equivalent form of thelatch.

The same letters refer to like parts in all the views.

A- is the point of the fork, to which is rigidly aifixed an upwardly-extending sheath, preferably in two parts, B B, and upon and inclosing only two sides of the fork, and to which sheath, at its upper end, is rigidly affixed the hay-guard (l. The lower part of the stem of thefork consists of the shank I), in thelower extremity of which shank are pivoted, at their upper ends, the tines E E, which tines are adapted to be withdrawn within the sheath B B as the shank (which is adapted to slide lengthwise within said sheath) is drawn up ward away from the point A, and to be pushed out (through apertures provided therefor through the sheath) at nearly right angles to the shank D as the shank is moved down- (Xo model.)

ward within the sheath toward the point A into the positionindicated by the dotted lines F F in Fig. 1. The upper portion, G, of the stem of the fork is bifurcate, forming a recess in which the latch H is located and has movement. The bifurcate sides of this part of the stem are somewhat extended in the plane of their width, forming guards for the latch H. Through the bifurcate sides of this part of the stem of the fork, and at right angles to the sides of the recess formed therein, are the slots I, having a length equal to or greater than the distance between the recesses L and M in the latch H, hereinafter to be described, which slots are adapted for the movement therein of the pin K, which pin extends from side to side through and is rigid in the upper part of the sheath B B. The latch H is provided with a recess, L, near its upper extremity, and with areverse recess, M, at its lower end, both of said recesses being adapted for receiving, bearing against, and retaining the pin K. Said latch is centrally pivoted upon the bifurcate parts of the stein G, within the recess formed thereby, a little to one side of the slots I, so that when the fork is in a vertical position its gravity will draw the upper recess, L, forward over or across the slot I, and will throw the lower recess, M, backwardover and across the slot I, whereby the pin K, when opposite either of said recesses L or M, will be therein automatically locked by the gravity of said latch.

To insure a more positive movement of the latch H than occurs from its gravity alone, I insert the spring N at the rear of the latch, having its bearings against the latch and against a convenient part of the stem of the fork.

For convenience in manipulation I prcfera loly make a handle, 0, in and of the upper end of the stem of the fork, and for the purpose of tripping the latch H a rope or cord, P, is at tached to the upper end of the latch.

The stem of the fork consists of the shank D, bifurcate parts G, and handle 0', rigidly made together.

The second or equivalent form of latch H (shown in Fig. 3) may be used when it is desirable for any purpose to pull down on the latch by the cord P more nearly vertically than is done when the cord passes through the handle at the top of the stem, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

From the drawings and the foregoing description it will be readily seen that the tines E E being within the sheath B B, as shown in Fig. 1, and locked in that position, as shown in Fig. 2, the pin K being in the recess M of latch H, the fork may be readily thrust into the hay, and that thereupon the latch H being thrown back, releasing pin K.from recess M, the shank of the fork may be pushed down in the sheath B B, carrying the tines E E out at right angles, as indicated by the dotted lines F F in Fig. 1, and the recess L down opposite to pin K, within whichrecess said pin will enter, the latch being carried forward by its gravity, or by its gravity and the power of the spring N, where said pin and the thereon-supported stem and tines will be locked and held by the latch II in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which position the fork and its load may be carried to the place of deposit of the hay, when by tripping the latch by means of the cord P, the gravity of the sheath B B and its adhering load of hay will carry the pin K down opposite to recess M, and at the same time withdraw the tines E E into the sheath B B, whereby the hay will be released and by its gravity will fall off the fork, leaving it disencumbered and ready for a repetition of the operation just described.

Having'thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a hay-fork, the latch H, pivoted to the 'with pin K, substantially as set forth.

3. In a hay-fork, the tripping-latch H, provided with recesses L and M, said latch being so pivoted within a recess in the stern of the fork that the recesses L and ,M, by the gravity of the latch, will automatically engage upon a pin sliding in a slot in the stem'of the fork,

in combination with the stem of the fork, provided with tines E E, rope P, pin K, rigid in sheath B B, and sheath B B, provided with guard O and point A, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 7

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHAS. A. GUTENKUNST.

WVitn esses:

O. T. BENEDICT, JAS. B. ERWIN. 

